Fountain pen



' Jan. 1 5, 1952 J. M. MORRIS I 2,582,391

FOUNTAIN PEN Filed NOV. 4, 1949 hvenmr John M. Morris Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED 2,582,391 FOUNTAIN TEN John M. Morris, Atlanta, tea.

Application November 4, 1949, Serial No. 125,407

1 Claim.

This invention relates to fountain pens, and the primary object of the invention is to provide simple and emcient means, operable by the thumb or index finger of the hand holding the pen, for causing the flow of ink from the ink sack to the pen point while the pen is in use.

The present invention preferably consists of a fountain pen which comprises a barrel having a pen point holder at its lower end, an ink sack disposed in the barrel and connected at its lower end to said pen point holder, a combined presser bar and spring disposed in the barrel and consisting of an elongated spring metal strip having a return-bent end portion embracing the upper end of the ink sack and forming a spring member held under tension by the barrel, the remaining major portion of said strip providing a relatively long presser-bar member extending between the ink sack and the barrel to a point near the lower end of the latter, said barrel having a slot therein near its lower end and. either at the side where the barrel is usually gripped by the thumb or at the side where it is usually gripped by the index finger when the pen is in use, the lower end of said presser-bar member being outwardly offset to provide a thumb or finger piece extending outwardly through said slot of the barrel and adapted to be pressed by the thumb or the index finger while the pen is in use to cause the presser-bar member to press the ink sack and force ink from the latter to the pen point.

The ink sack may be filled in the usual way'by operation of a filling lever, and flow of ink to the pen point may be initiated and positively caused continuously, while the pen is in use, by pressing on the thumb or finger piece. By varying the pressure on the thumb or finger piece, the flow of ink to the pen point may be varied to selectively produce light, medium or heavy lines, as desired.

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the pen;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the pen, partly in elevation and partly in ion-- gitudinal section;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the combined presser-bar and spring.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 5 indicates a barrel having a pen point holder 6 at its lower end. An ink sack l is disposed in the barrel and is connected as usual at its lower end to the holder 6. A combined presser-bar and spring 8 is disposed in the barrel and consists of an elongated spring metal strip having an end portion which is offset outwardly to provide a shoe portion 9 and then return-bent as at ID to form a spring member which embraces the upper end of the sack l and is held under tension by the barrel. The remaining major portion of the strip provides a relatively long presser-bar member I I which extends downwardly between the ink sack and the barrel and gradually inclines away from the sack. The barrel has a slot I2 therein near its lower end, and either at the side thereof where the same is usually gripped by the thumb, or at the side where it is usually gripped by the index finger when the pen is in use. The lower end of the presser-bar member II is outwardly offset to provide an arched finger or thumb piece l3. The thumb or finger piece extends outwardly through the slot l2 and is adapted to be pressed for the purpose previously mentioned.

The usual filling lever [4 may be pivoted at I5 between its ends in a slot 16 of the barrel, said lever being adapted to contact and press upon the presser-bar member I I intermediate the ends of the latter and being provided for use in filling the ink sack in the usual way.

From the foregoing description, the nature, operation and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. As the member II is inclined gradually from the ink sack, it efiectively forces the ink downwardly from said sack when pressed, instead of upwardly in said sack.

Having described the claimed as new is:

In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel closed at one end and having a pen point holder at the other end thereof, an ink sack positioned in said barrel and connected at one end thereof to said holder, said ink sack having a closed end disposed in the closed end portion of the barrel, and a presser bar unit comprising a relatively long member extending longitudinally between the ink sack and the inner surface of the barrel, an outwardly offset shoe portion provided at one end of said long member and engaging the barrel at a point adjacent the closed end of the latter whereby the long member is spaced from the inner surface of the barrel and sustained in contact with said ink sack, a relatively short member constituting a continuation of said shoe and extending obliquely in the barrel in divergent relation to the long member, said short member having a free end in abutment with the barrel at a point diametrically opposite from the long member, the closed end portion of said ink sack being disposed between and contacted by said invention, what is long and short members, and an elongated outwardly convex finger piece provided integrally at the other end of said long member, said barrel being provided adjacent said holder with a slot coplanar with the long member and parallel to the axis of the barrel, said finger piece having a free end portion engageable with a, portion of the barrel at the end of said slot adjacent the holder whereby-t0 sustain said long member in spaced relationIfrom the barrel, and atop portion .of said finger" piece being depressibly disposed in said slot flush with the outer surface of the barrel, whereby the closed end portion of the ink sack may be variably depressed to control the flow of ink to the pen point.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,451,314 Austin Aug. 10, 1923 1,939,649 Ashmore Dec. 19, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country' Date 578,465 France July 3, 1924 JOHN M. MORRIS.-" 

